Last year on Earth Day, I wrote about Ten Earth Day Actions Every Veterinary Hospital should take. This Earth Day, I want to tackle just one thing – business travel.
In Person and Face to face Matter
When my hospitals in Washington joined BluePearl in 2013, I quickly realized the necessity of having in person conversations with our new bosses. There are a lot of things that can be accomplished on the phone or in conference calls. However, sometimes you need someone present to experience the situation first hand. It is also hard to build the relationships you need to successfully work together if you are never in the same room.
All of this makes lots of sense. The only problem is that Blue Pearl’s corporate office is in Tampa, 2520 miles away.
So, what does this have to do with Climate Change
That round trip Tampa to Seattle flight contributes 1.5 metric tons of CO2.
Trees absorb CO2, an important greenhouse gas, but over the course of a year, you would need 68 mature trees to absorb the CO2 from that one plane trip.*
Currently the aviation industry is responsible for 11% of all transportation related emissions each year in the United States. Globally, aviation is responsible for 3% of all carbon emissions.
The Problem is Getting Worse
Seattle would like to consider itself a leader in environmental protection and proactive leadership on climate change. It has in the past been called, “America’s Greenest City.” Everyone here cares about the beautiful natural world around us and the future of the earth.
However, Seattle’s greenhouse emissions are going up not down, according to a recent report from the Seattle Office of Sustainability and the Environment. Carbon emissions are up over all about 7% since 2012, despite a goal of cutting emissions in half by 2030.
Why are they going up? Isn’t everyone here driving a Prius or a Tesla? Installing solar panels? Riding electric bikes and skateboards? Composting? Bringing their own straws to restaurants?
Sadly, Seattlites have made a lot of changes but those changes can’t keep up with the biggest cause of the increase – air travel. Carbon emissions from flights at SeaTac airport were up 40% from 2008 to 2016.
My personal experience certainly coincides with this. As BluePearl grew, the number of its employees flying multiple times per month or even per week grew exponentially. I care about the environment and have driven a hybrid for years. However, I ended up joining this cadre of business travelers, and was for a time, flying to a different region of the country 1-2 times a month.
What do we do?
The ease of air travel makes in person connections easier and has allowed for companies to function that stretch nationwide. But these growing nationwide conglomerates, in all industries, are fueling the rise in air travel and thus adding to the injury of our ailing planet. In addition, this massive commitment to business travel, increases family separation and the chronic jet lag puts a strain on our work force.
While no one is expecting large groups to stop air travel, I do think on Earth Day, it is important to pause and think about this problem.
Questions to consider
If you are looking at jobs, do you want one that contributes to growing greenhouse gas emissions? I love to travel and really enjoyed meeting so many people across the country. However, shouldn’t we be looking for a better way?
Technology has certainly improved with many more good platforms for video conferencing, global project management, and improved communication tools. I found I could convey quite a bit of information to large groups through interactive webinars offerred at multiple times a day.
If you run a large group, are there ways to minimize the air travel with more regional operations and local autonomy?
If you are thinking about growing a group, could you be successful with a regional strategy and minimize your travel?
If you can’t minimize the travel, are you willing to offset the emissions with tree planting projects or land conservation?
Do you have a carbon budget and are emissions something you consider when you plan a business trip?
How to personally minimize your impact when you have to travel for business
All of us can play a role in minimizing our greenhouse gas emissions from travel.
Is the trip really necessary?
First of all, before you plan a trip, consider whether what you plan to accomplish on the trip is worth the CO2. Consider whether there is an alternative via teleconference or video conference.
In a large group where people from multiple departments are flying around the country, think carefully about how many people need to go to each event or each hospital. Can you strategically plan your companies’ over all travel to reduce flights and thus carbon?
PwC, a global accounting firm, realized that 53% of its carbon emissions were from business travel. By providing better collaboration technology and more closely examing carbon emissions, PwC was able to decrease its carbon emissions from travel by 4% while still having revenue growth of 40%
When you have to fly
1) Fly direct – you use more carbon during take-off and landing. In fact, 25% of a flight’s total emissions come from take-off and landing cycles.
2) Pack light – the heavier the flight, the more fuel is used.
3) Fly a more efficient airline carrier when possible. Airlines have been ranked on fuel efficiency with Alaska Airlines consistently in the lead.
4) Consider environmental impacts as well as cost when you travel. It may be that a train trip is slightly longer between two cities but might have a much lower carbon footprint. Some travel management companies can provide CO2 emissions as well as time of travel and cost for certain trips. This doesn’t work everywhere in our country but certainly might be a good option between Seattle and Portland or Philadelphia and New York.
A challenge
Since, 2013 public companies and large private companies in the United Kingdom have had to publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions.
Do you know what the emissions are for your hospitals or for your hospital group? Do you know your personal carbon contribution? Or even your carbon contribution just from air travel?
I challenge you, this Earth Day, to look at your business travel and measure your emissions. I then challenge you to work to reduce and offset your impact. Let’s work together to help our planet.
